Spoilers Power of the Daleks
- Thread starter Turtletrekker
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Well, that was a lot of fun. Possibly my favorite Daleks story. Despite the dodgy animation, I am thrilled beyond words to have been able to experience this story. Here's to one day seeing "The Highlanders".
I really enjoyed that! Looking forward to watching it again all the way through rather than a week between episodes. I'd still say that Genesis is my favorite Dalek story but this might be 2nd. This was a very strong post-regeneration story--perhaps the best of the classic series. Here's to more animated stories!
Mr Awe
Mr Awe
I discovered this morning that BBCA ran the full-color version of all 6 episodes back-to-back, and fortunately it was listed as new episodes so my DVR recorded it. I'll probably check it out at some point, though maybe not right away.
I just picked up the DVD. I knew the animation had been done 16x9, but I thought only the colour version would be the full screen. I had assumed the B&W version would be 4x3. To me, it would have made more sense. Have a SD B&W 4x3 version for run-throughs of the series, and a HD colour 16x9 version for independent watching.
Having a 16x9 run in the middle of an otherwise 4x3 series will be slightly jarring, but I'll deal with it.
Having a 16x9 run in the middle of an otherwise 4x3 series will be slightly jarring, but I'll deal with it.
I finally watched the whole serial as I wanted to wait for all of the black and white episodes to be available online before watching any of it. I'm not sure if I'll bother with the color version.
I saw a fan reconstruction of the serial many years ago (possibly Loose Cannon, but I don't recall) so I already knew the beats of the story but there were some elements of the story that I had forgotten. I particularly like how the power grab wasn't just from the Daleks and gaining that power by playing dumb, but various power struggles with the colonists and scientists. However, unless I missed it, I wasn't very clear on what the rebels' cause was about. What particular grievances did they have against Governor Hensell?
The artistry of the animation was very good, especially for the Daleks and shadows bouncing off their cases. Simple motions worked pretty well, but all of the regular motions from The Doctor, Ben, Polly and all of the colonists were fairly bad, particularly facial gestures and Ben's chin. The facial gestures and head movements of The Doctor and a couple other characters unfortunately reminded me of the Donald Trump animation used on The Late Night with Stephen Colbert. Further, there was some minor continuity issues, particularly Ben's and Polly's outfits in episode one and inconsistent appearances of the stovepipe hat throughout the serial (largely where did it suddenly come from). That being said, by episode three, I was mostly accustomed to the animation style and wasn't bothered as much (similar how I slowly got accustomed to the weird character animation for Tron: Uprising).
One of the biggest highlights of the serial is the incidental music. Subtly eerie and not as bombastic as some of the Dalek music is in other serials. Some of the slight screeching music reminded me of Wendy Carlos' score for The Shining.
There must have been telesnaps of this scene because I got such joy seeing a Dalek serving a glass of milk on a platter again. "So, they given you the run of the colony, have they?"
Another great moment is when one of the Daleks is speechifying to the rebels: "With static power, the Daleks will be twice as...useful."
Perhaps someone can remind me who has a better memory or has seen a fan reconstruction and/or the telesnaps recently: Did we see exact mechanics of how the Daleks created the mutants before? I don't recall seeing the mutants gestate and then getting electrified to be brought to life. Is that an indulgence on the animation's part or is my memory failing? I seem to recall being confused on the matter of Dalek reproduction when I watched the fan reconstruction.
Overall, despite the static electricity conceit (which disappears in later Dalek stories), this remains one of my favorite Dalek serials, ranking up there with Genesis, Remembrance and Dalek.
I saw a fan reconstruction of the serial many years ago (possibly Loose Cannon, but I don't recall) so I already knew the beats of the story but there were some elements of the story that I had forgotten. I particularly like how the power grab wasn't just from the Daleks and gaining that power by playing dumb, but various power struggles with the colonists and scientists. However, unless I missed it, I wasn't very clear on what the rebels' cause was about. What particular grievances did they have against Governor Hensell?
The artistry of the animation was very good, especially for the Daleks and shadows bouncing off their cases. Simple motions worked pretty well, but all of the regular motions from The Doctor, Ben, Polly and all of the colonists were fairly bad, particularly facial gestures and Ben's chin. The facial gestures and head movements of The Doctor and a couple other characters unfortunately reminded me of the Donald Trump animation used on The Late Night with Stephen Colbert. Further, there was some minor continuity issues, particularly Ben's and Polly's outfits in episode one and inconsistent appearances of the stovepipe hat throughout the serial (largely where did it suddenly come from). That being said, by episode three, I was mostly accustomed to the animation style and wasn't bothered as much (similar how I slowly got accustomed to the weird character animation for Tron: Uprising).
One of the biggest highlights of the serial is the incidental music. Subtly eerie and not as bombastic as some of the Dalek music is in other serials. Some of the slight screeching music reminded me of Wendy Carlos' score for The Shining.
There must have been telesnaps of this scene because I got such joy seeing a Dalek serving a glass of milk on a platter again. "So, they given you the run of the colony, have they?"
Another great moment is when one of the Daleks is speechifying to the rebels: "With static power, the Daleks will be twice as...useful."
Perhaps someone can remind me who has a better memory or has seen a fan reconstruction and/or the telesnaps recently: Did we see exact mechanics of how the Daleks created the mutants before? I don't recall seeing the mutants gestate and then getting electrified to be brought to life. Is that an indulgence on the animation's part or is my memory failing? I seem to recall being confused on the matter of Dalek reproduction when I watched the fan reconstruction.
Overall, despite the static electricity conceit (which disappears in later Dalek stories), this remains one of my favorite Dalek serials, ranking up there with Genesis, Remembrance and Dalek.
I don't think it was ever specified. It seemed that they were just a few malcontents that Bragen used Janley to stir up in order to create enough unrest that he could take over.
And yes, there was a definite theme that our petty divisions among ourselves can lead to our own destruction. The Daleks wouldn't have been able to achieve so much if not for the conflicts and mistrust among the colonists. There was even that moment where a Dalek asked Bragen, "Why do human beings kill human beings?" (Although we'd later see plenty of stories where Daleks divided into factions and warred on their own.)
There are indeed telesnaps showing that part of the process, as well as most of what we saw here, although there don't seem to be telesnaps of the shot where we saw mass-produced guns being lowered on a vertical conveyor and plugged into the Daleks.
Ah, that makes sense. Still, it feels like a weak point to an otherwise solid story. What were they being malcontent about and were those reasons strong enough to go into battle for?
Thank you for that link. Those telesnaps do seem vaguely familiar now so I'm not surprised my memory failed me.
Sadly, they often aren't. Power-hungry demagogues have always been able to stir up support by manipulating gullible people into being mad about things that aren't actually legitimate problems -- like, say, a non-existent flood of illegal Mexican immigrants or an imaginary War on Christmas.
I am going through this at the moment, good story, but that animation. lol
Its this that keeps putting me off a grand rewatch of Dr Who from 'An Unearthly Child' to this year's Christmas Special which Spoilers...is when he regenerates, as I fear I'd have to go back and watch the reconstructed episodes out of sequence. I'm currently watching the complete season nine DVD box set and the Blu-Ray edition of 'Power of the Daleks' has been dispatched just today by Amazon. Once I get it, apart from the 2016 Christmas Special (see below), the spin-offs: 'Torchwood', 'Sarah-Jane Adventures' & 'Class' and the non-canon stuff: 'Scream of the Shalka' Peter Cushing films, I'll have caught up with Dr Who DVD releases. My plan was sometime in the autumn I'd binge watch some of the best of the many documentaries and featurettes on the DVDs (and maybe 'An Adventure in Time & Space' as well which I've yet to buy) and then plunge into the rewatch which would be as much for watching the development and evolution of the show as for entertainment. I'd delay buying the complete series ten box set which I imagine would have both the 2016 & 2017 Christmas Specials, until I've reached 'The Husbands of River Song'. I'd also watch the spin-offs in roughly the place where their episodes would fall relative to the new series'.
Well I just finished watching 'Power of the Daleks' on Blu-Ray (I chose the colour reconstruction though if I go ahead with my watch through of all the episodes - see previous post - I'll probably watch the monochrome reconstruction on DVD to fit in better with the other pre-colour episodes). I thought the story was pretty good and many of the beats from subsequent regeneration episodes, particularly the companions reactions to the regeneration (or renewal as its called here), are echoed in stories like 'The Twin Dilemma' & 'Deep Breath'. I have to say though that the Dalek's plan to lull the colonists into a false sense of security by posing as their servants was reminiscent of 'Victory of the Daleks' Matt Smith's first Dalek story with Daleks fetching and carrying around the Cabinet War Rooms. Overall very good and to realise much of the artwork was hand painted made it more so.
Well, it's the other way around, of course -- "Victory" was directly homaging "Power."
And I only just recently realized that the title "The Power of the Daleks" has a rather literal meaning -- a lot of the plot of this episode revolves around the Daleks trying to create their own independent power source and the Doctor trying to stop them from doing so.
I thought I wrote 'of course Power came first' or words to that effect
. Its amazing how you have the words in your head but then you don't write them down. On the subject of power, was this the last time that they had them powered by static electricity? I don't recall it mentioned in any of the Jon Pertwee or subsequent Doctors' Dalek stories.
I believe so. And it doesn't quite add up, because the Daleks here have the rectangular side plates that debuted in "The Chase," which were intended by Raymond Cusick to be solar panels allowing the Daleks to operate without depending on a static power feed like in "The Daleks" or broadcast power like in "Invasion of Earth." And Vulcan was a hot planet, suggesting it didn't lack for sunlight -- indeed, I suspect it may have been intended to be the same Vulcan that was once conjectured to exist between the Sun and Mercury.
I thought I wrote 'of course Power came first' or words to that effect
it was mentioned in Evil of the Daleks. The use of static electricity in an experiment was clued the doctor in that Daleks were involved.
And yet I think there was an early one that mentioned about the Daleks no longer needed it (Dalek Invasion Of Earth?)
Oh, yes. That was also David Whitaker, so that makes sense. But it also featured a return to Skaro, so if these were Skaro Daleks, their use of static is consistent. (Although they still have the solar panels.)
Yes, that's why they had parabolic dishes on their backs, to receive broadcast power. The solar panels replaced the dishes in the next story, "The Chase" -- presumably since the Daleks were chasing the TARDIS all through time and thus couldn't be assured of a broadcast power source.
Here's an overview of the different Dalek designs over the decades: http://www.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/dalek/types/
Well the absence of pointy-eared people and the fact that the episode was apparently set in 2020 implied that
. Though I am curious as to when people stopped thinking that there was a planet between the Sun & Mercury. I remember reading James Blish's adaptation of 'Tomorrow is Yesterday'. I believe his version was based on an early draft of the script and when Captain Christopher first meets Spock he mentions that Vulcan until Spock disabuses him about its existence.Similar threads
